Clynn

Hello Sunny. Remember that your port is actually stitched into your stomach muscles which is why I was advised not to do any stomach crunches for quite some time after the surgery. While I was recovering I would feel perfectly fine until I tried to sit up from lying down then *ouch* Not enough to cause a huge reaction on my part but certainly enough to make me take notice. I don't have that pain anymore and can do sit-ups just fine if I get the inclination. I went in for my first fill last week and got to see my port for the first time. I expected it to be directly under my large scar but in fact it is an inch or two below the incision site which sounds almost exactly to be where you are experiencing your discomfort. Of course if the pain does not go away almost immediately or you are experiencing it other than when you try and do a sit-up, or if you just need a little more reassurance than my very *un*professional self, go ahead and call Dr Ortiz to pick his brain a little.

Anyone who has truly dealt with obesity all or much of their lives would immediately realize the absurdity of the words "just diet"

No pictures but I got a back rub when they saw I was filling out a testimonial form on the computers - so fill out those forms!

Hey CalKev, sorry I missed you last week. I had a little "adventure" with the mexican taxi and ended up getting there much later than I thought. Hope you are adjusting well after the fill. To everyone else going down for a fill and opting not to take the clinic shuttle: bring the phone number of the clinic, specifically the number to call while you are in Mexico, as well as plenty of quarters. The payphones down there thankfully take American quarters. I've heard plenty of great stories about the local taxis but unexpected things do happen.

Dove makes some excellent sugar-free dark chocolates. If you can limit your intake to one or two a night you won't be doing near as much damage.

Terri, The first few days post-op I ate mostly broth. Sometime I would cook some vegetables in the broth to give it a bit more flavor and trick my mind into thinking I was preparing a more elaborate meal. I bought many packets of ramen noodels, threw away the noodles and drank the seasoning packets as it gave a nice variety as opposed to just straight broth. Once I hit the yogourt stage it was heaven - and I hated yogourt!! I let myself drink as much as I wanted since it had very little nutritional value and isn't the least bit impressed by the new band. The night before I had dream after dream where something came up and I couldn't have the surgery. Everything from my dog got sick to the plane was late, but the day came and went before I knew it and everything worked out great. Good luck to you tomorrow.

I had my surgery a month and a half ago and concur with what other people have posted here. The surgery was a breeze. I would question why your doctor would want you to have the bypass instead of the lap-band. The only reason I can think of is that the lap-band is a newer procedure and perhaps he doesn't trust it as much. As far as me and my doctor were concerned though, the bypass was NOT an option, mainly because the lap-band is 100% reversible while the bypass is not. It is also a much more involved procedure. My mother lives near a woman who had the bypass and was shown the scars. She has a trans-continental rail system on her abdomen vs the five small scars I have. The largest scar I have is an inch long and is getting smaller as the weight is coming off. Hope we've been helpful

Hello HealthQuest, I will be down that day for my first fill so maybe I will see you there. Stop freaking out - the surgery is a breeze.

Yeay Mandy!

Hmmm, interesting idea. Personally, I don't mind reading other people's experiences with other doctors or giving them a little support. As far as the handbag posts go, that is spam and something I certainly would not mind having to jump through a few extra hoops to get rid of. Especially since some of the ones I've reported on have been pretty graphic. I'm not really sure how you'd keep people from making an account on here without creating alot of administrative overhead though. For now, ignore it, report it, just DON'T CLICK ON THE LINKS EVER EVER EVER. Have I put enough emphasis on that? Seriously, that's how bad stuff gets on your computer . I fix stuff like that for a living so if anyone has clicked on a bad link and thinks they picked up something nasty, feel free to drop me a line.

Hey Mandy, it is Corey your band-mate. I'd never heard that the port could flip, which is probably for the best since that would be one more thing I'd be paranoid about the first few weeks after the surgery. Did they use flouro when they were looking for the port? I have heard that when Dr's do a blind fill they can have difficulty finding the port and that can cause problems. Your x-ray will on Mon should give a pretty clear picture if something is amiss. Good luck and hopefully the worst that is happening is that your port is hiding.

Ok so here is an interesting dilema to ponder. I got banded in early Oct and have my first fill scheduled in three weeks. Since the surgery I've lost about 17 lbs and lost 40 lbs total since going on the pre-op diet in Aug. I'm eating about half of what I was pre-op but more importantly, I'm just not as excited about food as I used to be. Now as my fill appointment gets closer I'm starting to wonder if it's really necessary right now. On one hand I'm loosing the weight and feeling restriction without any negative side effects. I'd hate to get a fill when I really don't need one and then have problems because I'm too tight. On the other hand, all the arrangements to fly down there have already been made. Since I'm visiting my parents for Thanksgiving I'd still use the airfare and have a great vacation. If I end up postponing my first fill but then loose my restriction in the near future it would be an expensive proposition to take the time off work and fly down to TJ so soon after having been in the area. I'll probably shoot Dr Ortiz an email over the next couple of days but I thought I'd post on the forum and see if anyone's been in the same boat as me right now.

Hello Ladybug, From your post it sounds like you're using your sister as your primary source of support. That is an ENORMOUS task for any one person and something she is obviously unequipped for given your anger towards her. Have you tried branching out and finding some lap-band support groups in your area? If you can get your emotional support from multiple sources then the failure or shortcomings of any one will become much less aggravating. I can't imagine how frustrating it would be to give up so much and lose so little, then compound that by having someone close to you having a much higher level of success. Good luck to you and I hope you find a way to achieve your goals.

I'll be there the 27th for my first fill in the late morning (haven't actually gotten around to making the appointment yet). My mom's going to be down the street getting a crown in and since she's my ride I'll be there for a bit.

MTred, I was banded early last month in Tiajuana by Dr Ortiz so I am not a success story . . . yet. But so far I've lost 40 lbs since going on the pre-op diet so being banded has certainly done something and time will tell how successful it is. I feel I'm more qualified to speak to your second point about being desperate enough to go to Mexico in that I don't think desperation came into that decision at all. Certainly desperation comes into the decision to have the surgery in that I'd tried and failed countless times at less drastic ways to loose weight and knew that continuing to fail would mean a decreased lifespan and quality of life. But once I'd decided to have it done, going to Dr Ortiz was a comparatively simple decision. Dr Ortiz has 1,000's of these surgeries behind him, has instructed many of the American surgeons around here on this procedure, and my father had seen him speak on the Discovery channel about this procedure. Even my primary care physician here told me to go for it after he had done some research and told me that leaving the country for surgical procedures was becoming more accepted as health costs here continue to skyrocket. Just because the doctor is not American does not mean they are unqualified. If you have a good doctor with a good staff at a good facility the mailing address becomes much less important. My experience in Tiajuana was fantastic. I felt totally safe and well taken care of at all times. Since I live alone I feel that having this done as an outpatient procedure in the States would have had me feeling much less at ease then the overnight stay in the hospital where someone could be at my side in seconds if something went wrong or even if I had a concern. That was a much more long-winded response that I had originally intended but I hope it helps you make your decision just a bit.

In the clear liquids stage I would cut up veggies and boil them with my broth, usually green onions and mushrooms. That way it added a little taste and I had something to do with my hands as far as preparation to make it feel like more of an event. Also I bought packages of Top Ramen, make the broth and throw away the noodles. Later on in the full liquids stage when I felt really hungry, I'd go to the grocery stores where they have pots of soup that have been cooking all day and are nice and tender. A quick run through the blender until it is the consistency of milk hit the spot and gave me some extra nutrition beyond just the broth.

Hello Phil, Regarding your post-op diet questions, different surgeons will have different post-op diets, so check with your doctor to find out what he wants you to do. This forum is centered around a specific clinic so we can't really advise you on what your Dr will do but we are certainly happy to hear from you or provide some encouragement when things get tough. When I was down for my surgery they gave me an information packet detailing what I could eat when, so it's reasonable to expect they will do the same with you. Also I'm sure they wouldn't mind a phone call from you to answer these questions before you walk in the front door. Good luck and I hope your back is feeling better.

Piece of sugar-free berry pie . . . . . in a few weeks

I'm 16 days post-op and I still get a few gas pains here and there, but after the first week they had dropped off signifigantly. The secret for me is learning how to purposly burp, and be sure I do after eating and drinking. I envy boys in this respect - burping comes so easily to them!

I've actually got the opposite situation where my port site is sucked in sometimes. Looks like I have a small dent in my stomach. Figure once the incision finishes healing it will return to normal.

They'll make five incisions in your stomach. Four of them are around half an inch long, one is about and inch and a half long up and to your left of your belly button. That's the port. It sits under your skin and doesn't stick out any, but once it heals up a bit you may be able to feel it under the skin. No biggie. Hope that helps

Hello Cyndi! I was attending the opening for the Pantages Theater up here in Tacoma which just got done with a major remodel in which my company acted as general contracter (which meant free tickets, yeay!!!). I sat next to a lady who asked if I had tried the hor d'ourves in the lobby and I told her I could not as I had just had stomach surgery last week and was on a strict liquid diet. I told her about the lap-band and she said her friend would be going in for the same procedure in Mexico and then . . . . . . . . . SHE DROPPED YOUR NAME!! I couldn't believe how small the world suddenly got. I guess it goes to show that when you have a doctor who has done as many procedures as Dr Ortiz you are never far from a fellow patient. Good luck with your surgery next week! -Corey

It was rather thoughtless for your friend to to blurt that out over a conference call since that puts you in a difficult position of having to either tell before you're ready or look like you're cutting someone you care about out of the loop, but it sounds like you handled it well. I guess the decision of whether or not to tell people stems from out feelings about the band. I looked at the suregry as me stepping up and taking drastic action to get control over a personal demon rather than an admission of defeat or taking the easy way out as I've heard it referred to in the media. Because of that I told just about everyone in my life. Their support has certainly made this journey easier for me and I think you're going to find as you start telling more people you'll benefit greatly from their positive support.

Just like spam in your inbox, there's not much you can do to keep people from putting up spam posts here, especially since this is a medically themed forum. All that can really be improved are the filtering practices. Learn to recognize which posts are spam from their title and report it or stay clear.

You do get pills but they are pills that you put under your tongue and swollow as they dissolve. They don't taste too bad but I always took a few sips of water after to wash them out of my mouth.